Conservation Agreement Between U.S. and El Salvador

By Eproint

The U.S. Government and the Republic of El Salvador finalized the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) agreement. This bilateral agreement will redirect approximately $20 million in concessional debt owed by El Salvador to a conservation fund over a period of 10 years.

The TFCA program was established in 1998 to offer eligible developing countries options to relieve certain official debt owed the U.S., while at the same time, generating funds to support local conservation activities for tropical forests and coral reefs. This agreement with El Salvador is the first TFCA agreement since 2014, for a total of 21 agreements with 14 countries implemented since the program was created, and the second agreement with El Salvador through the TFCA program. Through the first TFCA agreement, which entered into force in 2001, El Salvador has used conservation funding to preserve and restore tropical forests, such as mangrove ecosystems.

“El Salvador is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. I am pleased that this conservation agreement will build off the successes of the United States’ existing TFCA agreement with El Salvador by redirecting $20 million in concessional debt to help protect and restore the country’s tropical forestlands and coral reefs,” said Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), co-chair of the International Conservation Caucus. “TFCA is a results-driven program. I look forward to continuing to work with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State to finalize additional TFCA agreements with other countries around the world and with my colleagues in Congress to reauthorize the program for another five years.”